[Paper Review] Brief overview on Bacteriophage therapy; Alternative to Antibiotics

Rameen Atique, Hafiza Arshi Saeed+9 more|arXiv (Cornell University)|Feb 15, 2024

Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Biomedical ResearchBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology3 citations

TL;DR

This paper provides a concise overview of bacteriophage therapy as a promising alternative to antibiotics, emphasizing its specificity in targeting pathogenic bacteria while sparing beneficial microbiota. It highlights phage therapy’s advantages—low off-target effects, rapid action, and environmental sustainability—alongside challenges like host specificity and the need for personalized phage libraries, concluding that it is a viable, climate-friendly strategy for combating antibiotic-resistant infections.

ABSTRACT

The term bacteriophage means killer or eater of bacteria. They were initially discovered by F.W. Twort and later on, Felix d'Herelle unveiled them to the world in 1910. Phage therapy has arisen as a favorable option to conventional antibiotics by reducing the multinational problem of increasing antibacterial resistance. These virulent viruses particularly prey on and contaminate bacterial strains and aid in fighting bacterial diseases. Researchers are performing various clinical trials on the bacteriophage to tackle pathogenic bacterial infections, varying from typical illnesses to highly invulnerable biofilms that cannot be treated with antibiotics. The primary experiments demonstrated that phage therapy has fewer consequences than traditional antimicrobial drugs. It is safer to use and show results within a few days. Although phage therapy has a wide range of promising results, but it also encounters diverse obstacles. One is that they are host-specific and can merely be used for personalized therapy. As thousands of bacteria can cause disease, clinicians have to construct a library of phage viruses. For successful treatment, an analysis of versatility, stability, and immune interference related to bacteriophage is necessary. Phage therapy is an excellent substitute for antibiotics as it illustrates a living base for the treatment of infections and it is climate-friendly. It only targets the pathogenic cells and has less influence on the normal microbiota. Regardless of the challenges and problems, phage therapy is approved as a beneficial approach to combating contagious infections.

Motivation & Objective

• To evaluate bacteriophage therapy as a viable alternative to conventional antibiotics in the face of rising antimicrobial resistance.
• To examine the mechanisms and advantages of phage therapy in selectively targeting pathogenic bacteria without disrupting normal microbiota.
• To identify key challenges such as host specificity, phage library development, and immune system interference in clinical application.
• To assess the safety, efficacy, and environmental sustainability of phage therapy in treating bacterial infections.

Proposed method

• Review of historical discovery and development of bacteriophages by Twort and d'Hérelle.
• Analysis of phage mechanisms, including host-specific infection and lytic cycle induction in pathogenic bacteria.
• Evaluation of clinical trial data on phage therapy for various infections, including antibiotic-resistant and biofilm-associated diseases.
• Assessment of phage stability, versatility, and immune system interactions to determine therapeutic feasibility.
• Comparison of phage therapy with conventional antibiotics in terms of side effects, specificity, and environmental impact.
• Synthesis of current research trends and challenges in advancing phage therapy toward clinical adoption.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 How does bacteriophage therapy compare to antibiotics in terms of specificity and off-target effects on the human microbiota?
• RQ2 What are the primary biological and clinical challenges limiting the broad application of phage therapy?
• RQ3 How effective is phage therapy in treating biofilm-associated and antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections?
• RQ4 What role does phage host specificity play in the design of personalized treatment regimens?
• RQ5 In what ways is phage therapy environmentally sustainable compared to conventional antimicrobial agents?

Key findings

• Bacteriophages exhibit high specificity, targeting only pathogenic bacteria and minimizing disruption to the normal microbiota.
• Phage therapy demonstrates fewer adverse effects compared to traditional antimicrobial drugs, with faster clinical response times.
• The therapy is effective against persistent infections, including those caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria and biofilms.
• Host specificity necessitates the development of extensive phage libraries for broad clinical application.
• Phage therapy is considered climate-friendly due to its targeted action and reduced environmental persistence of antimicrobial agents.
• Despite challenges, phage therapy is recognized as a beneficial and viable approach for treating infectious diseases.